In a special pregame show at Qualcomm Stadium, the Spanos family handed out nearly $250,000 in Chargers Champions grants to nine schools in the county. The gifts ranged from $3,000 to $75,000.

“Schools throughout California need our support,” said A.G. Spanos, executive vice president and CEO of the Chargers. “The main goal of our program is to provide students with the necessary means to living a healthy lifestyle through physical fitness.”

The Chargers Champions program helps pay for new facilities and athletic equipment.

This year, about 70 schools applied for the funding. The grant writers, many of them teachers, were chosen to attend Sunday’s football game and receive the checks on the field.

Helix High School in La Mesa was one of two campuses to win the top grant amount of $75,000. The prize was especially sweet for Helix because it had asked for $40,000 on its application.

“Not only did we win a grant to renovate our weight room, but we got nearly twice what we asked for. How often does that happen?” said Mike Lewis, executive director at Helix. “The fact that this weight room is paid for by the Chargers — the kids find that very cool.”

The team increased its grant to Helix after sending a team to inspect the conditions of the campus weight room. The aging facility, which is housed in an old auto shop, was in bad shape, said Chargers spokeswoman Jennifer Rojas.

“They saw that it was from the dinosaur ages,” she said. “They decided it needed a total makeover.”

The new Helix weight room should be ready by early next year, with state-of-the-art equipment that will serve boys and girls as they take physical education classes and participate in team sports.

Since the Chargers Champions program started in 2000, the Spanos family has donated more than $4.5 million to local schools.

County Superintendent of Schools Randy Ward said the Chargers have become a leading source of educational philanthropy in the region.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have organizations like the San Diego Chargers step up to support education,” Ward said. “By providing these resources, the Chargers are making a real difference in the lives of local children, not only today but in the future.”

Funds allocated to Chargers Champions are administered through the Chargers Community Foundation.